Midnight Crossing (Josie Gray Mysteries #5)(33)
“I was afraid to touch anything, even with gloves on. A hazmat suit was in order.”
“How much time they serve?” Otto asked. “Two years?”
“Probably half that.”
He shook his head, obviously disgusted. “You headed to Mooney’s house now?”
“Can you meet me?”
“Yep.”
“I checked the address. They’re renting from Cici Gomez. They’re living above the pawnshop.”
“Well, there’s a shocker. See you there in ten minutes.”
*
Josie drove two blocks to the San Salbo Pawn Shop, located next to the Family Value Store. The pawnshop was owned by Cici Gomez, a longtime drug dealer with multiple arrests on his record for a variety of offenses. Josie had arrested him several years ago for abusing his elderly grandfather, a sweet old Navajo with a heart too tender for his own good. He had refused to press charges against his grandson because of an intense family loyalty that Josie had found maddening. Regardless, she thought Cici was a piece of crap; he’d been out of jail for less than six months and was most likely already up to no good. She wasn’t surprised to hear he had a brother/sister meth duo living above his shop. There were people who were literally too stupid to deserve a place on the planet. She’d probably fry in hell for thinking that way, but it’s how she felt when she had to deal with people like the Mooneys.
The San Salbo Pawn Shop looked like a cheap version of an old western movie set from the fifties, including a fence out front to tie the horses to and a wooden porch with rocking chairs.
But Cici’s good-ole-boy image was nothing more than that. Cici knew the game; he knew how to move in and out of places without being seen. When she thought about Cici, the line in the old Scarface movie with Al Pacino came to mind, the scene when he calls someone a cock-a-roach. That’s how she imagined Cici, crawling along the floorboards in the dirt.
And now Josh and Macey Mooney were running game above Cici’s shop. Parked in front of the store was a banged-up eighties-era orange Chevy Camaro that she recognized as Josh’s drugmobile.
Otto pulled up beside Josie and she got out of her jeep. She felt for the latex gloves in her back pocket, a precaution against whatever nastiness the Mooneys might have inside their apartment.
“Any good news from Dan?” she asked.
“News, yes. Not sure if it’s good yet.” He explained the geography of the transport from Guatemala to West Texas.
“Remember, that’s what Selena said too. She said there wouldn’t be any reason to bring trafficked victims here. And the BP says there’s no reason to even drive through here.”
“So why would the transporters bring the two women on a five-hundred-mile detour from the major cities in Texas to travel through this part of Texas? This doesn’t work as an efficient route,” he said.
“I don’t know. Let’s go jack up Josh and Macey. See why Josh wanted my work schedule.”
“You don’t think they’re out working? At two-thirty on a bright sunny afternoon in the middle of the week?”
“Your sarcasm is getting worse, Otto.”
“Hazard of the job. It’s sarcasm or wild women. I have to get rid of the stress somehow, and you know Delores wouldn’t put up with wild women.”
*
The narrow wooden door facing the street was located between the Family Value and the San Salbo. Josie entered first, then Otto, and they walked up a dimly lit stairwell that led to two apartments at the top of the landing. Josie knocked on the door with the number two painted in black on it. There was no peephole. The trick was getting them to open the door and allow entrance.
Josie knocked a second time, louder and faster, and a few moments later she saw a thin strip of Josh Mooney’s face appear in the crack of the door.
“Yeah?” he said.
“Josh, this is Chief of Police Josie Gray. I’m here with Officer Otto Podowski. We’d like a minute of your time.”
The door remained cracked and the eyeball unblinking.
“No trouble for you. Just a couple questions and we’ll be on our way,” she said.
“About what?”
“It would be a lot easier to talk about this if we weren’t out here where your neighbors can hear everything that’s said.”
The eyeball flitted away for a moment, probably glancing around the room for paraphernalia, and then focused on her for another few seconds.
“Hang on. I have to get dressed.”
Otto shuddered.
Several minutes later a wide-eyed and panting Josh Mooney again opened the door a crack to look at them and then shut it. Josie and Otto looked at each other as they listened to voices from inside the apartment growing louder. They finally heard the fortunate sound of a chain being pulled against the latch, and the door swung open. Josh stepped back and Josie and Otto entered to find Macey standing closely beside Josh, their arms touching. Macey was clearly out of breath as well, probably from hiding their stash. She clutched her hands in front of her and pressed her lips together in a thin line.
Josh and Macey reminded Josie of the Who characters in the Grinch movie. They both stood about five feet tall, with big blue eyes and yellow hair and a perpetually shocked look in their eyes. Although they all clearly knew each other, Otto went through the formality of introductions while Josie scanned the apartment.